D-Link DIR-601 will not let me use PPPoE for Wireless connection

Under Windows 7 pro. DSL Westell modem and D-Link Dir-601 router. I have the latest firmware upgrade for both the modem and the router. My ISP, (Centurylink), uses PPPoE. When I set up my router for this, my wired connections will connect but my wireless portable PC cannot. When the setting is changed to Dynamic IP (DHCP), both my wired connections and the portable will connect. If I power up JUST the modem and the router, both will handshack with all green lights on and with the modem lights solid. I then start the computer and everything seems fine until the computer has finished its boot. At the desktop screen, the modem and router both will start rapid flashing for a good five minutes before they settle down to let an internet connection be made. When the modem and the router finishes their handshacking, the internet will then works but the speed is very slow, about 1/3 from just the modem connected. This happens even when the internet connection command is set to disable. This is a new wireless replaced router. I had it replaced because I though the first one to be bad. I replaced a wired router with this wireless one. The wired one was set up with PPPoE and worked perfect. Thank you for anyone that can help me correct this.

Last edited by GiddyUpGo; 2011-08-27 at 21:53.

GiddyUpGo "Learn from the Past, Live in Today, Prepare for the Future"

Thank you Roderunner

I also think Dynamic Ip is my problem. My ISP will only support the Westell modem that they supply. They did confirm PPPoE as right. They seem to not like me hooking up anything except for their modem. Is there something I can reset on my Laptop? Do I need a different router? If so, what is a good one to use with DSL? I am new to networking. Thank You for your reply!

GiddyUpGo "Learn from the Past, Live in Today, Prepare for the Future"

Have you tried to open the Network and Sharing Center, then set up a new connection or network? If both of your PC's are Win 7, you could set up a Homegroup. I am not sure if either of these suggestions will help under PPPoE, but these are my only thoughts at this moment.

Have you tried to open the Network and Sharing Center, then set up a new connection or network? If both of your PC's are Win 7, you could set up a Homegroup. I am not sure if either of these suggestions will help under PPPoE, but these are my only thoughts at this moment.

I have not tried this. One pc is xp pro sp3 wired, one is w7 home wired, and the other is my labtop w7 home wireless.

GiddyUpGo "Learn from the Past, Live in Today, Prepare for the Future"

Have you tried to open the Network and Sharing Center, then set up a new connection or network? If both of your PC's are Win 7, you could set up a Homegroup. I am not sure if either of these suggestions will help under PPPoE, but these are my only thoughts at this moment.

Ted, I bit the bullet and deleted and reinstalled both my modem and my router connections. My Westell DSL modem was and still is setup under PPPoE. The D-link re-setup did not change nor help, at least for anything I could see or detect. It auto sets up with the installer disk to Dynamic Ip. I can turn on just the modem and the router, before I turn on the Computer. After their lights are on and are steady I can boot the computer. The time here seems to be about normal. At the desktop, without any commands from me, the modem and router lights start their flashing again for several minutes and will finally settle down to a solid state. Until they do there is no Internet access. If I hook up my old LNKSKEY wired router, which is setup for PPPoE, this does not happen. It will be ready to connect to the internet as soon as the computer boot is done with only a couple of quick internet access flashes. I am willing to try anything, so if you have any more thoughts on this, please let me know. (I have a new replaced d-links router. This second one did not change my problems)

GiddyUpGo "Learn from the Past, Live in Today, Prepare for the Future"

Hi GiddyUpGo, looking at your image, all seems ok but does not show a feature thats in my Netgear router. Attachment 29009 Also check your MTU (Maximum Transmit Units) with your ISP, mine is 1432. Its in the WAN Setup section.

Under SetUp my MTU is Default set to 1500. Instructions for this router points to 1500 bites for Ethernet connections and for 1492 bytes for PPPoE. Since my Westell DSL modem is set for PPPoE and this router is set for Dynamic Ip, which number should I use? Change to 1492 or use your1432 number? Please Know I really appreciate the time and help you all have given me.

GiddyUpGo "Learn from the Past, Live in Today, Prepare for the Future"

Most common ones to try are 1392/1400/1432/1492 (1432 is the usual recommended MTU for Talk Talk but may not work for all).
You can just try these ones, or alternatively you can diagnose the exact figure yourself as per below.

First, log into the router and set MTU to 1500 just for testing purposes.

Start a command prompt. Go to Start and select Run. In the box, type in cmd (Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7), and then hit enter.

In the cmd window type: ping -f -l 1472 google.co.uk

(the l is a lower case L, and note there are spaces after ping, f, l, and 1472)

You may get output that says something like "packet needs to fragment but DF set", or 100% packet loss, or “request timed out”.

If you do, then type that command again, reducing the value of 1472 by small increments until you find the largest number which works with no lost packets.

Then just add 28 to this number to set as MTU in your router settings.

Hi GiddyUpGo, this is how to find your MTU:- - PC MTU test:- - netsh interface ipv4 show subinterfaces - To determine your optimum MTU Most common ones to try are 1392/1400/1432/1492 (1432 is the usual recommended MTU for Talk Talk but may not work for all). You can just try these ones, or alternatively you can diagnose the exact figure yourself as per below. First, log into the router and set MTU to 1500 just for testing purposes. Start a command prompt. Go to Start and select Run. In the box, type in cmd (Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7), and then hit enter. In the cmd window type: ping -f -l 1472 google.co.uk (the l is a lower case L, and note there are spaces after ping, f, l, and 1472) You may get output that says something like "packet needs to fragment but DF set", or 100% packet loss, or “request timed out”. If you do, then type that command again, reducing the value of 1472 by small increments until you find the largest number which works with no lost packets. Then just add 28 to this number to set as MTU in your router settings. EG: max value with no packet loss = 1464, add 28 = optimum MTU of 1492. - To change the MTU value in your computer Although you may have now entered the right MTU setting in the router, you may need to adjust the MTU in your computer system, as this may still be showing a default MTU which is different from your router MTU. You can download Dr TCP which can do this via an easy to use interface, however this does not work for Vista/Win7. So this needs to be done via a command prompt for Vista/Win7. Open a command prompt (cmd) as administrator & type: ipconfig/all Make a note of the exact names of the network devices. They are the words directly after “adapter". Eg: “Local Area Connection" or "Wireless Network Connection". Then use the following command to set the MTU value: netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface "Wireless Network Connection" mtu=1432 store=persistent netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface "Local Area Connection" mtu=1432 store=persistent Change 1432 to your previously found result if needed. More details on how to do this here: http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/vistaMTU.htm However, if you find that you are getting the “element not found message” when following above instructions, try the below procedure. Rather than use the name of the interface, use its numerical ID. To get that ID, enter the following at a command prompt: netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces Once you know the ID for the interface you want to tweak the MTU, use that rather than the description: netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface “X? mtu=1432 store=persistent (where 'x' is the ID of the interface) Above is using MTU 1432, but of course, this needs to be same number as the MTU setting in your router. __________________

YOU ARE THE ONE! You have make this retired senior very happy! This has my router working! Do not loose these instructions. I will not, but there may be others with the same problem that needs them. MY Mtu was set with 1500 as the default. After a lot of tries, I found 1364 to be the one that gave me no loss. Until I reached this point, all numbers were giving me 100% loss. I added 28 to 1364 per your instruction for 1392, reset the modem to this and then using your commands at the CMD prompt set my computer to 1394 also. Rebooted the computer and the router set quickly to all lights on, without having to wait several minutes after the desktop loads and the modem and the router starts flashing again and having to wait for it to settle down before I can use the internet. Until I can afford a better router, this will work for me! THANK YOU VERY MUCH! PS: the router still uses Dynamic Ip instead of PPPoE. I thought This was my problem, but the MTU was and I will no longer be concerned about the Dynamic verses PPPoE connections. This may be the reason I had to go all the way to 1364.

Last edited by GiddyUpGo; 2011-08-30 at 15:09.

GiddyUpGo "Learn from the Past, Live in Today, Prepare for the Future"